Paula Deen: a Biography

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When she was a little girl, Paula Hiers would watch her Grandmother Paul in the kitchen, and admire the fascinating things she “cooked up.” At a young age, cooking became a love of hers, and she desired to improve her skills and learn as much as she could. She watched her grandmother and her mother, and began to memorize recipes and learn the basic skills of cooking. When she was 18, she married Jimmy Deen, therefore taking the name Paula Deen. While married and living in Georgia, Deen began to experience panic attacks and agoraphobia, a fear of most social environments. Due to these disorders, she began cooking as her main pastime. She felt secure in her own kitchen, and discovered that cooking was a hobby that allowed her to stay at home. She has said that she spent hours in front of her stove and cooked thousands of pots of chicken and dumplings. (Deen and Cohen) Deen’s husband struggled to keep a steady job, and the family experienced major financial issues. Deen decided that it was time for her to contribute to the family’s financial state. She decided to start her own business. A friend had told her about a lady that sold snacks in beauty shops to women that didn’t have time to eat an entire lunch. Deen decided that she would make lunches and sell them in the same fashion. She mentioned the idea to her husband who immediately shot it down. However, despite his doubt he gave her $200 out of her tax return, and told her to do what she could with it. Deen’s first step was to make the business legal. She had to get a license to make sandwiches and sell them to the public. Through much research, she discovered that the only way to get a license was to have access to a professional kitchen. To her surprise, her husband asked a friend of his if she could use his kitchen at a pool hall he owned. Deen was given permission, however, after taking one

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